Supporting Academic Advancement and Research

The non-profit Inamori Foundation was established in 1984, based upon the belief of Kyocera’s founder, Kazuo Inamori, that “a human being has no higher calling than to strive for the greater good of humanity and the world” and that “the future of humanity can be assured only when there is a balance between scientific development and the enrichment of the human spirit.” The Kyoto Prize, organized by the Foundation, was established in 1985 and celebrates its 30th anniversary in 2014 as an international award that honors people who have made significant contributions in the three categories of Advanced Technology, Basic Sciences, and Arts and Philosophy. Each laureate receives a diploma, Kyoto Prize medal and prize money of 50 million yen per category.

Following the Kyoto Prize presentation ceremony each November 10, events are held to encourage citizen interaction with the laureates, including commemorative lectures for the general public where the laureates present their world views, academic workshops involving experts in the chosen award fields, and educational programs for students from elementary school to college.

The Kyocera Group is fully aligned with the spirit of the Kyoto Prize and pleased to support this award.

The Inamori Frontier Research Center was established at Kyushu University (Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan) to undertake research activities contributing to the harmony of minds and technology, and to support the exchange and education of young researchers. Kyocera agrees with the goals of the Center, and has supported its operations since 2008 by donating scholarship funds.

In 2008, the Inamori Academy building opened at Kagoshima University (Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan) to offer a course aimed at the comprehensive cultivation of human abilities. Kyocera supported the construction of the facility. In 2000, the endowed Kyocera Chair of Management Studies was established in the university’s Faculty of Engineering. In 2005, the course expanded university-wide and was reorganized into the Inamori Academy in 2008.

Inamori Academy building

Donation of the Kyocera Collection of British Parliamentary Papers

In 1998, Kyocera donated more than 12,000 volumes of documents submitted to the British Parliament in the 19th and 20th centuries to Japan’s National Museum of Ethnology. The collection was transferred to the Center for Integrated Area Studies (CIAS), Kyoto University in 2006 and is utilized as a resource for research.

Kyocera Collection of British Parliamentary Papers

Alfred University

In 2005, Kyocera made a donation to Alfred University (New York state, U.S.A.), an institute renowned worldwide for its education and research in ceramics and glass, which led to the official renaming of its engineering school as the Kazuo Inamori School of Engineering. In 2011, the Inamori Kyocera Fine Ceramics Museum was opened to exhibit the products and technology that Kyocera has cultivated over the years.

Inamori Kyocera Fine Ceramics Museum

Kyocera Museum of Fine Ceramics

The Kyocera Museum of Fine Ceramics was inaugurated in 1998 in the global headquarters building in Kyoto, followed by a sister museum in the company’s Kagoshima Kokubu Plant which opened in 2001. Free of charge and open to the public, the museums showcase the evolution and latest technological advances around which Kyocera has grown and serve to support the future development of fine ceramics. The museum in Kyoto was fully renovated in March 2014.